A United Front
by CorgiGirlOne
Summary: This is a sequel to "An Unusual Love." After much deliberating I decided to write a sequel. I hope everyone enjoys it. Basically it is about Steve and Tony as they are asked back a mission. This mission will lead the Avengers on a dark path and secrets they never knew existed will be uncovered.
1. Chapter 1

The honeymoon had been pure heaven for the newlyweds. Tony took Steve all over Europe to show him how much things had changed. Steve enjoyed every minute of it. He was fascinated by how the culture and the people had grown over the past seventy years. He relished in the thought knowing Germany was no longer a threat. In fact, he loved the German people he met while they toured the country. Steve was beyond happy. The world had become somewhat of a better place and he was glad knowing he had not missed out entirely. The fact he was also married to the love of his life also gave him reason to be cheerful. He felt free whenever he was with Tony and the culture of Europeans also made him feel accepted.

Tony was also feeling a sense of pure bliss. He had finally settled down with the love of his life as well and he couldn't have asked for a better spouse. He felt safe knowing Steve would always be there to support him and to love him always love him. Tony still had feelings of being unwanted but Steve would always appear and make him feel loved and desired. Every night they would make love as though it was the first time. For both, their honeymoon was a journey not just for romantic indulgences but to firmly establish who they were individually. By the time they returned, they knew almost every detail about one another.

Their favorite destination had been Paris. Steve enjoyed looking out over the city high atop the Eiffel Tower. Tony had insisted they go. He knew Steve felt comfortable being high up and he was right. Steve felt the same feeling he had experienced on Tony's roof; a sense of calm and serenity. It had been his favorite spot in Paris. He felt blessed that Tony knew all the intimate secrets to make Steve feel at ease. He loved Tony and nothing could ever change that.

Tony had enjoyed touring Versailles and its gardens. For some strange reason, being among the magnificent flowers and walking in a palace that used to house kings and queens made Tony feel uplifted. He was not usually a history person but something about Versailles and its past had resonated through Tony. He felt a sense of pride within himself knowing that he had been able to find his soul mate and had been given the opportunity to marry him. He thought the world of Steve and smiled at the thought of spending the rest of his life with him.

After their honeymoon, the couple boarded a plane and headed back to New York. It was a somber moment for the two as they took one last look at the Paris airport. They were heading back to reality and back to their life in the states. They had reminisced about their trip the entire flight back and looked at all the pictures they had taken. They were quickly jolted back to life in New York City by the sounds of honking cars and taxis; people shouting out of their cars; teenagers cussing at one another. Both men wished NYC could be more like Paris.

As Tony and Steve entered Stark's mansion, they were immediately greeted by Jarvis.

"_Welcome back you two. I hope you enjoyed your honeymoon."_

"Thank you JARVIS. We didn't want to leave. Paris was far better" said Tony as he placed his luggage on the floor.

"Yeah I could probably be persuaded to live there" replied Steve. He headed towards their bedroom. It looked the same as they had left it about a month prior. Inside he was secretly happy to be back. He loved Paris and could be persuaded to buy a house there but there was no place like home. No feeling could replace the emotions he had when he could lay in Tony's bed. It provided warmth of comfort that nowhere else could provide him. He got into the bed and began to relax. He felt so safe in the satin sheets.

"Did you miss home that much?" a voice said. Steve stirred from his little moment and looked up to see Tony standing in the doorway. He smiled as he watched him approach.

"Just a little" he said smiling. He laughed when Tony gave him that 'don't bullshit me' look. "Okay I missed it a lot" he added. "There's no place like home you know?" Tony smile grew wider as he stood next to the bed.

"I know the feeling. I kind of missed this place and JARVIS. Now scoot over and let me in the bed." Steve moved over to let Tony's built body in. Once Tony had positioned himself to where he was comfortable, Steve moved in closer and rested his hands on Tony's chest.

"Thank you for a wonderful honeymoon. I still can't believe we are really married. I love you Tony" he said quietly as he gazed into Tony's eyes.

"Well we are and I for one couldn't be happier. I am so thankful you came into my life." He stumbled a little on his words. Tony knew he was capable of being emotional but there were times when he didn't want it to be obvious. He turned and gazed into Steve's blue eyes. They were so hypnotic. They had always made Tony go weak in the knees. He let out a sigh and put his arm around his husband. "I love you Steve." He knew Steve was waiting patiently to hear those words and he was glad to say them.

"I love you too Tony." Steve raised his head and took Tony's mouth in his and kissed him ever so gently. This was home; their tongues fighting for control; the passion that ignited between them as they ran their fingers over their bodies. It was simply heaven. They spent the next few hours making the sweetest love possible. They were now a united front and along with the rest of the team knew they were finally ready to start yet another chapter of their lives. Both were glad to be home and neither could have predicted the news that would be arriving first thing in the morning.


	2. Chapter 2

"_Sir Director Fury is attempting to reach you. He claims it is quite urgent" _said Jarvis over the intercom. His voice sounded jittery and alert.

"JARVIS do you know what time it is?" muttered Tony as he rolled over in the bed. He was not expecting to be woken up until at least noon. Out of the corner of his sleepy eye he noticed it was still dark outside.

"_It is five-thirty in the morning but I must insist you answer his call."_

"Put him through JARVIS" said Steve as his eyes began to open. He too was not expecting a phone call this early but he figured it must have been important for Fury to call so early. "What is it Fury?" he asked.

"Sorry to interrupt you Sleeping Beauties but I am afraid I must ask you to report to SHIELD headquarters immediately. Something has come up and we need everyone from the team including the two of you."

"What is going on? Has the world ended?" Tony really did not like being woken up at an ungodly hour and Fury was disrupting his much needed sleep. He and Steve had only gone to sleep a couple hours ago. They had made love most of the night and both men were tired.

"It will come to an end if we do not do anything to stop this situation. It could end in the world and all of its civilizations as we know it." Fury sounded stern and upset. Steve knew it was serious. He could feel it in the pit of his stomach.

"We will be right there sir." With that being said Steve instantly got out of bed and started going about his morning routine.

"Thank you. I will brief you the moment you arrive. Everyone else is already here." There was a sudden click and the line became disconnected.

"Come on Tony. This sounds important-you need to get up now" the blonde man said as he leaned over and started kissing the side of Tony's face.

"Why? I was just beginning to fall asleep. I wasn't done dreaming yet." Steve chuckled as he watched the older man slowly rise from the bed; the sheets dropping from his toned stomach. Steve thought himself lucky to be with such an attractive person.

"I know how you feel. I don't want to go either but it's our civic duty."

"Fuck civic duty. Doesn't Fury ever get tired of using the same people to clean up his damn messes?"

"We are his team Tony and I remember us all agreeing to stick together as a team when we are needed and it sounds like we are. Besides, this will be my first real mission since Loki's attack and I'm ready to fight. Now get dressed lazy bones." He threw Tony some clothes then continued getting dressed himself. Tony gathered up the clothes and slowly went about his morning rituals. He fussed all the way to headquarters while Steve tried to cheer up by telling him about all the wonderful sex they had had just a short time ago and much they would have when they returned. It made Tony feel a little better but he was still annoyed that he had to get up at all.

When they arrived at SHIELD, they were told to go to the conference room. Tony's complaining finally came to a stop as they entered the room. They found the rest of the Avengers sitting at the elongated table, each member having two cups of coffee at their disposal. They looked like they didn't want to be here either.

"Welcome back guys" the team shouted as the couple walked over to the table.

"Believe it or not we actually missed you" joked Clint. Tony rolled his eyes at the attempted sentiment. _Clint, you are too damn perky for this hour of the day _he thought to himself.

"Yeah it just didn't feel the same going on missions while you guys were gone" said Natasha ever so dweetly. She was exuberant over the fact that they were finally back. She had missed them terribly.

"Thanks, we missed you guys too." Steve cut in before Tony could give another sarcastic comment.

"We will have to hear all about it once we clean this mess up in Germany" Bruce said quietly as he rolled his hand over his brow.

"Germany?" asked Steve.

"Yes, Germany" said Fury stepping into the room. He carried an enormous amount of files in his hand and all Tony wondered was why he hadn't converted them into computer files. Fury neared the table and dropped the files. He looked aged and tired. The team could tell he had not slept in days. He wiped some of the sweat dripping from his forehead.

"There have been two attacks in Germany so far. The target has been two weapon factories. Everything was destroyed including several towns located near each factory. The estimated number of casualties were around one hundred."

"Do we have any idea who is behind these attacks?" asked Thor. As usual he had been pretty reserved but now his interest was piqued and he wanted to know more information. He noticed a look of concern on Steve's face as Fury spoke. He wondered why he looked that way.

"We have a name and a face to go along with the name but as far as exactly who she is or any other background information is still unknown. Steve and Tony, I am assigning you that task. I want to know every little detail about this woman."

"Woman?" the team said in unison. Neither one of them had expected a female to be behind the attacks. Fury put up a picture of the assassin. At first Steve wasn't really paying all that much attention to the image on the screen, but as he began to fixate on the image, a look of worry and dread soon plastered his face. She was tall and slim and her eyes were emerald green. She had ivory skin and long red hair. Steve had seen that face before. She looked eerily similar to Pepper. He began to feel nervous. It was then he remembered the words Pepper had spoken to him right before she had stabbed him. He thought he was going to throw up.

"Her name is Anna Stein. All we know is that she is a very highly trained assassin and is not afraid to kill innocent people" Fury said. He tried to sound knowledgeable and unafraid but Steve could hear the fear in his voice.

"Excuse me if you do not mind me asking but why exactly have you called us in to deal with the matter?" asked Bruce.

"I must agree with our giant green scientist over" said Tony. "Why isn't the military handling this?" He was going to even be furthered annoyed if they were being sent on a mission they really didn't need to be on.

"Good question-here is the answer. Miss Stein has left an American flag at each of the factories she has blown up. Since our little superhero team is funded by the US government, we want to gather more information about her motives before we send in the troops."

"What do you think are her motives Fury?" asked Clint. Fury was interrupted by Steve before he could comment further.

"She's trying to make it look like the US is involved. She wants the world to think the US is intentionally destroying all these factories so she could start World War Three pretty much. Her agenda is to cause Europe to go to war with United States." Steve's response was blunt yet filled with emotion. The team turned their heads and stared. Steve remained his solid composure. He knew he was right.

"Are you certain of this Mr. Rogers?" Fury's glare did not go unnoticed but Steve would not change his stance.

"Yes director. I have seen her kind before." He bowed his head and concentrated on the glass table. He could see his reflection in the glass and refused to look up even though he could feel the stinging burn of all his teams' eyes looking at him.

"I am inclined to agree with Rogers. I want you all to dig up all you can on Miss Stein and figure out how we can stop her. I want to know every little detail even down to what color lipstick she wears. I want to know where she came from, how she thinks, and what she is really after. I do not doubt she wants the good ol' USA to take the heat from her actions, but she seems as though she is looking for someone or something.

The word 'someone' chilled Steve down to the bone. If his second assumption was also correct, the German assassin was either after him or Tony or even worse…both of them. He let loose a soft cry escape his lips. For the first time in his life, he was scared. Tony noticed the sudden change in Steve's behavior and wondered what the captain was thinking about. Fury soon dismissed the team and sent them back to their respective residences. He told them they would reconvene forty eight hours back at SHIELD to go over all the information they had gathered.

The drive back to Tonys' house was long and filled with silence. Tony would sneak glances at Steve only to find him lost in a daze of studious thinking. He looked worried. He tried to convince himself that Steve was just tired but his random interest in the assassin could not be easily discarded. As they pulled into the driveway, Tony felt like he had no choice but to ask.

"Steve what is going on? You have barely spoken one word to me since we left Fury's Hell. What are you not telling me?"

"I'm not sure yet Tony. I have a hunch about something but you will not like it. I want to gather accurate information first before I say anything to you. Please take no offense. You may not understand now but I really want to be wrong about my suspicions." He looked away from Tony's confused face and started walking inside. Tony was speechless.

"Steve I'm not sure if you understand this but we are married now and we do not keep secrets!" he shouted after Steve. Steve stopped for a second then turned back around.

"I am not keeping any secrets Tony. I need more information before I tell you anything! You have to trust me on this. I will let you know as soon as possible." He walked up to Tony and held him close. He savored the moment. He stored away Tony's smell of cologne and hair conditioner into his memory. He stored away the way Tony's hands rubbed his back. Steve could feel himself crying on the inside. He knew if he was right Tony would probably not let him touch him or even want to be close to him at least for awhile. Hell, Tony may even divorce him. As Tony loosened his grip, Steve took Tony's face in his hands and dove in for a kiss. He kissed him more passionately than ever before. He was on the verge of losing the most wonderful man in the world and he wanted what he thought would be their last kiss to be full of passion and hunger mixed with a hint of sadness and longing. He grasped Tony's hair in his hands and pushed his tongue deep into Tony's throat. He could feel the tears swell up in his eyes. After several minutes he finally pulled back and left the half crazed Tony standing in the driveway. This time Tony did not try and stop him nor did Steve stop to look. He marched into the house and went to his apartment.

As Steve took a seat in front of his computer he began to think about what he was about to do. After causing a scene at SHIELD and basically kissing Tony goodbye, Steve knew he had to go forward. He had already gone too far to turn back now. He took a deep breath and began his quest.

"JARVIS please pull up a picture of Anna Stein onto the main screen." He cleared his throat and stood from his chair. He watched as a holographic picture of the red haired assassin appeared on the screen. "Now JARVIS, please pull up a picture of…of Pepper Potts." He expected a snide remark or comment from the AI but instead JARVIS pulled up the image without any complaints. He rubbed his hands through his hair and began to sweat. He didn't want to do this but he knew he was a soldier and he must do his duty.

"JARVIS are you angry with me?" He sounded like a kid who had wondered too far from his parents and had just been found.

"_No sir I am not. Your intuition is correct. Anything else I can do for you?" _Steve let out a small sigh of relief. It helped to know that someone believed in him and would not cast any judgment.

"Could you please bring up every bit of information about these two women? I know there is a connection between the two but we need to find out what that connection is." The soldier and the AI proceeded to spend the rest of the night piecing together all the clues to reveal Steve's worst fears.


End file.
